Their Broken Road
by wuteva4eva456
Summary: How Could This Happen to Me sequel. After Taylor's death, the gang struggles. Troy finds himself at a crossroad that will either lead to a life of college basketball, or a life with Gabriella and their unborn baby. Mainly Troyella.
1. New Beginnings, Same Sorrow

Their Broken Road

By oOMissLovelyEagle9Oo

A/N: Here's the first chapter. The beginning is like a prologue. It just explains everything that has happened, but the story does begin further down. Read&Review!

Summary: After the tragic death of their friend Taylor McKessie, Gabriella, Troy, Chad, and Sharpay try to pull their lives back together. But struggles follow after Gabriella learns about Chad's real reasoning behind his plans to marry Taylor, while Sharpay struggles to accept herself as a paralyzed woman. While this is going on, Troy makes a shocking sacrifice for his and Gabriella's future.

Chapter 1

February soon faded and as did March and April. Soon it was May, and in a month, the gang would be graduating. Gabriella, Troy, Ryan, and Sharpay didn't take part in the spring musical that year as they did in the past 2 years. Sharpay didn't audition for the obvious reason: she was in a wheelchair and couldn't exactly dance and sing on stage. Ryan didn't have the heart to audition without his sister, so he decided not to. Troy seemed very distant from all the extra-curricular activities, and Gabriella still hadn't fully come to terms with the accident yet.

Everyone sort of slipped away from high school. They become more serious and less like teenagers. Gabriella's mother called it coming into adulthood, but Gabriella knew it was more than that. Somehow, grief got the better of everyone. Gabriella wasn't even sure they were really grieving over Taylor anymore. They were grieving over the loss of their childhood innocence. Troy, Chad, Gabriella, and Sharpay were no longer the average high school seniors. They seemed to slip into their own little world, away from the parties and the exams. Troy was now less interested in basketball. He was no longer practicing every day and working out. Instead, he would spend more time with Gabriella. Their relationship became stronger, because down deep, they were afraid that they would lose each other.

Sharpay and Zeke weren't as lucky. They didn't stay together. Sharpay became very bitter and she closed herself off from the real world. Not even Ryan could get her to cheer up. She'd always respond that she couldn't walk anymore, so what was the point in living. This caused Ryan to shut down also. They had that twin connection where if one of them were hurting, the other would be hurting also. Everyone tried their best to help them, but Sharpay wouldn't let anyone help her. Ryan finally decided to move on with his life, and he accepted a scholarship to Julliard.

Somehow, Chad continued to lead his life. Instead of neglecting basketball and his grades, he practiced even harder and got his grades up. He had even got himself an academic and basketball scholarship to Sacramento State University. Everyone was extremely proud of his accomplishments, especially his parents, Chris and Lynn.

Kelsi and Jason became very serious with each other, and they are thinking about marrying after college. They are both going to go to the University of San Diego and they are going to find an apartment together. Kelsi and Jason had made the decision to get married before they would have sex, because of religious reasons, so they will only be roommates. Gabriella and Troy were like that once, but their views have changed. They figured that life was too short, and they were planning on having sex.

That particular day, Gabriella was walking down the East High halls towards her locker. Last period had just been dismissed and she was trying to hurry so her locker mates wouldn't be there before she was. She was in such a hurry that she didn't see Chad try to wave at her.

When she got to her locker she bent down to open it. She then heard a loud voice say, "Thanks for the warm hello,"

Gabriella looked up and saw Chad standing over her. She stood straight up. She smiled and said, "Oh, sorry Chad. I was in hurry and I didn't see you there."

"Oh, okay," he said simply. He fiddled with the basketball in his hands, stalling.

Gabriella again looked up, "Was there something else?"

Chad nodded, "I was just wondering if you had talked to Taylor's parents lately,"

Gabriella stared at him with a puzzled look, "Why?"

"Um…I was wanting to talk to them about something," he said as he looked everywhere but Gabriella's face. He was feeling very uncomfortable.

"Really? Why Mr. and Mrs. McKessie?"

Chad looked her square in the eye and said, "I wanted to talk to them about Taylor….and me."

Gabriella realized what he was talking about. He was talking about Chad planning to ask Taylor to marry him. Troy had told Gabriella a few weeks after Taylor's funeral, after everything had settled down again.

"Oh," she responded quietly. "No, I haven't talked to them recently. But I think that you should tell them about you and Taylor."

"Yeah," Chad said quietly. He suddenly realized that the halls were half empty. He quickly said, "Um…I've got to go. See ya later Gabi!" He then ran down the halls towards the gym. Gabriella sighed to herself. _Same old Chad,_ she thought happily. _Finally, something that is the same!_

Just then, Troy came bounding up behind Gabriella and put his hands over her eyes. "Guess who?" he asked her in a sing-songy voice.

"Um…Ms. Darbus?" she guessed sarcastically.

"No!" Troy exclaimed and turned her around.

Gabriella smiled and said, "Wow, Ms. Darbus! You've changed!"

Troy chuckled lightly and said, "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

Gabriella laughed along and said, "A compliment, of course."

She gave him a light kiss and she gathered up all her books and shoved them into her usually organized locker. She then slammed the door shut and walked out hand-in-hand with Troy.

"So, how was last period with Darbus?" Gabriella asked her boyfriend playfully.

"Ugh! Don't remind me. All she did was lecture us about how school wasn't over yet so we had to still behave and do our homework," he responded wrinkling his nose at the memory.

Gabriella giggled and said, "Wow. In our last period, Mr. Lynch let us talk and play games the whole time, because we already finished the book we were reading and we turned them back into the school library."

Troy just sighed and said as he neared his new truck, "Wow, that sucks. Why can't I have your last period class?"

Gabriella and Troy both walked over to the passenger side and as Troy was opening the door for her she responded sharply, "Because I'm smart!"

Troy gave her a smirk as he ran over to the driver's side. When he got in he said playfully, "Wow, that really hurt my feelings. Now I'm not so sure I want you to come over." He made a puppy-dog face and pretended to cry.

Gabriella giggled and planted a kiss on Troy's pouted lips. He smiled and deepened the kiss. Gabriella then pulled back and said, "Okay, lets get to your house now."

Troy groaned and put his keys into the ignition and drove off.

A/N: That was a bunch of fluff and Troyella, but oh well. I hope you liked it! Review please!


	2. The Marriage Fight

**A/N:** Sorry it's been a while. I've been a little busy…lol. OOPPS I made a huge mistake on this chapter and I had to go back and correct it, so if you've already read the first version of this chapter, then…um yeah. That last version was screwed up. Here's the CORRECT version:

Chapter 2

When they got to Troy's house, Mrs. Bolton greeted them both warmly and offered them something to drink. They both declined and went straight up to Troy's room. Mrs. Bolton just smiled and shook her head. Troy and Gabriella were inseparable these days.

"So," Gabriella started as she walked into Troy's large room. "What do you want to do? Homework or…" she gave him a suggestive smirk.

Troy laughed sharply, "I don't care. What ever you would like to do. But first, I needed to ask you something."

Gabriella nodded to urge him to go on. "Gabi, um. You know how we wanted to get married after college?" Gabriella again nodded.

"Well, um. What would you say if we got married sooner?"

Gabriella paused, "Define 'sooner.'"

"I was thinking that maybe we could get married before we go to college," Troy said as he stared into Gabriella's huge, brown eyes.

Gabriella looked away. She walked over to Troy's basketball beanbag chair and plopped down on it. "Troy, um. Wow. I'm not sure about this."

Troy rushed over and kneeled down before her. "Why not? We could make it work. I know we can! I just want to have that commitment there. I love you, and I can't live with out you," he said as he sat up and kissed her tenderly.

"T-Troy," she said between their kiss. "Wait," she said as she pushed him away. She touched her lips with her fingers as if it burned. Troy looked hurt and confused.

"Troy," she began slowly. "I just can't. I can't marry you so soon. We are only kids! Be practical."

Troy turned away, looking deeply hurt. "Troy, please. It's not that I don't love you. I do, it's just that…." Gabriella trailed off. She saw the look on Troy's face. For a second she wanted to banish away all her practical views and get lost in Troy's eyes and agree to marry him sooner. But, she couldn't forget them. Marriage was a big step, and she wasn't sure if they were ready. She looked up at Troy's face again. He looked angry this time.

He turned to Gabriella and said, "What's wrong? It's just confirming that we will stay together. That's what we were planning on doing in the first place, wasn't it? Or are you just gonna desert me after we get into college and fall for the first jock that you see?"

Gabriella, hurt from this, shot back viscously, "Yeah, right. Like I'd ever go out with another jock!" From the moment it was said, she wanted to take it back. Troy just got up and went towards the door. He stalked out and slammed the door behind him. The sound echoed through the room. For a second, Gabriella didn't know what to do. Finally she stormed out and flew down the stairs and towards the front door. Cara saw this and yelled if something was wrong, but Gabriella was too upset to answer. _Why would Troy assume that I would dump him_, she thought as she ran out the front door. _Does he really think that less of me? _She was too angry to even think straight so she just continued to run the 2 blocks to her house.

**A/N:** Sorry that's all I really felt like writing. Please review!


	3. Sweet Love

A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus. There will be another one coming up again, soon, I'm sorry to say. I'm going on vacation in a week so, yep. Okay everyone; just so we're straight…the idea for "How Could This Happen to Me" WAS from a book called _Telling Christina Goodbye_. This sequel is an original; I had no assistance from any book. Well, except for some of my mom's romance novels. LOL, Jackie. Just so you would know…

Here's the next chapter:

Chapter 3

When Gabriella got home, she ran past her mother, who was cooking dinner, and straight to her room. She plopped herself face-first onto her queen-sized bed and started to cry. She had just started to get over Taylor, and that hole in her heart had started to heal. She didn't know if she could take it if Troy left her also. She had been crying for so long that, soon, her mother was calling her to come to dinner. Gabriella knew that her mom would not allow her to just skip dinner, so she reluctantly climbed out of bed and dragged herself down the stairs. Her body felt heavy and icky, so she took her time.

When she got to the table, she saw her mom and her-now fiancé, Liam sitting at the table already. Gabriella slowly walked over to her spot in between her mom and Liam at the small table.

She saw her mother give her a worried look, but she didn't say anything. They quickly said the "Prayer Before Meals" and started eating. Everyone was silent for quite awhile, but Liam finally broke the silence by asking them, "How was your day, girls?"

Maria shook her head and said, "My boss was late getting to her convention so of course she called me and chewed me out for not booking an earlier flight."

Gabriella felt for her mom. She knew that her boss, Miss Orvay was over-demanding. Miss Orvay was the reason she and her mother had to move from their cozy house in San Diego, to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Maria continued, "I tried to tell Miss Orvay that I had booked the earliest flight to New York, but she just stated that I should have gotten one for the day before. I honestly don't know what to do about her. I mean, the convention wasn't until 5 that day and she got there at 2:30 Eastern time. She had two and a half hours to get ready, for goodness sakes! But of course she is so high maintenance." Maria let out a huge sigh and continued to poke at her lasagna.

"Other than that," she started again. "My day was pretty average. What about you two? How was school, Gabi?"

Gabriella looked up and simply stated, "Nothing happened at school." She was telling the truth. School was fine; it was just after school that was upsetting.

"Oh," Maria said softly trying to urge Gabriella on.

Gabriella saw the trap so she quickly responded, "Mom, may I be excused?"

Maria looked a little hurt that her daughter wouldn't open up, but she sighed and motioned for her to leave. Gabriella quickly dumped all of the remains of her dinner into a plastic container and shoved it into the refrigerator. She quickly left the kitchen and raced up to her room. Liam patted Maria's leg trying to comfort her and said, "She'll talk later. I'm sure of it."

Gabriella plopped herself on her bed face first. She glanced sideways at her clock. _8:21, _it blinked. She tried to start up on the homework she had for the weekend, but she couldn't concentrate on it. All she could think about was Troy. She couldn't explain how much she wanted to marry him, but she was trying to be practical and responsible. Troy was neither of those two. He was always an eternal optimist and a dreamer. She smiled at the thought. She loved him so much for that. She wished that she could take back those words. Suddenly, a strong feeling over-came her. Why is she sitting in her room doing homework when she could be with Troy, trying to fix everything? She sat up and climbed out of her queen sized bed. Gabriella rushed to put on her green and pink flip-flops and flew out of her bedroom. She slowly walked down the stairs and when she got to her front door, she opened it quietly so her mom and Liam wouldn't hear.

She then took off when she successfully closed the door discreetly. She ran up her street and towards Troy's house. Gabriella couldn't believe that she was doing this. She had been impulsive very few times in her life, but she hoped that this time wouldn't go to shit like it did the last time she did. That last time was when she decided to sneak out of her house when she was grounded. She ended up having the worst night of her life, while that night ended her dearest friend's life.

She soon found herself standing in front of Troy's house, crying and breathing hard. Gabriella saw that Troy's room was lit. That meant that he was in it. She carefully climbed up the side of his house and she softly knocked on his window. She saw Troy jerk up from his bed and rush towards the window. He carefully opened his window and stepped back so that Gabriella could quickly climb in.

"Gabriella…" he started, but Gabriella motioned to be quiet. She hugged him tightly and whispered that she was sorry about a million times. Troy pulled her into a passionate kiss. She kissed him back was such force and passion that it took over her. Soon she found herself tugging at his oversized basketball shirt. He broke their kiss and pulled it over his head and started to undo his shorts. Gabriella slowly pulled her camisole over her head and dropped it on Troy's bedroom floor. Gabriella pulled close to Troy's now bare chest and got on her tip-toes to kiss Troy's soft lips. They soon found themselves undressed and they continued to passionately kiss. Gabriella wasn't sure what to do, because she had never had sex before. She wondered what Troy was feeling and she wished she knew.

"What," she tried to say between kisses. She started again, "What are you thinking?"

He drew apart from her and tenderly said, "All I can think about is how much I love you and want you." He tenderly kissed her forehead. Gabriella gave in and found herself slowly sank towards the ground.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Gabriella slowly woke up to the combination of someone mowing their lawn and the bright light streaming through Troy's opened window. She looked to her side and saw Troy sleeping soundly. She slowly untangled herself from Troy and grabbed the sheet and pulled it around her breasts. She looked over at the alarm clock and saw what time it was. It was 7:28 in the morning! She had slept over at Troy's house. Her mom was going to kill her if she woke up and found that Gabriella wasn't in her room. She quickly grabbed her bra and underwear and yanked them on.

"Good morning," she heard a voice say. She looked over and saw Troy sitting up and yawning. Gabriella thought to herself warmly, _His hair is tousled and messy, but other than that he is beautiful. _

"'Morning," she responded and rushed over to him and kissed him. He drew her in, but she backed out. Troy looked slightly surprised.

"What's wrong?" he asked as Gabriella bent over and grabbed her jeans and drew them on.

Gabriella looked up and said, "Troy, look at your clock. It's 7:30 in the morning! If my mom finds out that I left and….um…" she paused and said, "spent the night with you, then she'll freak! It's bad enough that I snuck out again, but I slept with you! God, Troy! Do you know what she'll say when she…" Gabriella broke out laughing. She wasn't sure why she did, but she started roaring with laughter. Troy didn't really get it, but he chuckled along. She was laughing so hard that tears started rolling down her eyes. She figured out that she was laughing because she had been so uptight about everything. She loved Troy and to hell with what her mother thought.

Gabriella's laughter soon turned to giggles and she watched Troy pull on his boxers and head towards Gabriella. He pulled her closed and hugged her tightly. She stopped laughing and kissed his cheek.

"Do you know how wonderful you are, Mr. Bolton?" she said lovingly.

"No, Miss Montez," he said as he kissed her tenderly.

"You are pretty wonderful, you know," she went on. "The only thing about you that bugs me is your hair. I don't like how 'flippy-dippy' it is," she teased. She just loved to get a rise out of him. The thing about him is that he is extremely sensitive about going out into public with his hair messed up. He'd always ask her how his hair was, even in a movie theatre when know one could see it.

"What?" he exclaimed. "What do you mean, you don't like my hair?" He suddenly leaned over and grabbed a pillow from his bed. "I'll show you!" He then wacked her head with his pillow and she went flying backwards. She screamed in delight and pushed him down playfully. He bounced back up and pushed her to the ground. What he didn't realize was that Gabriella still had a hold onto him and he went flying backwards too. They landed in a loud thump.

Jack and Cara suddenly jerked their heads up from reading the morning paper. They looked at each other sideways and bolted up and started for the stairs. When they reached Troy's room, Jack swung open the door and looked in at the sight.

Gabriella had pinned Troy down and she was tousling his hair, trying to make it look bad. She didn't have her shirt or shoes on and Troy only had a pair of boxers on. Cara gasped and exclaimed, "What on earth is going on!"

Troy and Gabriella jerked up and sat up. Gabriella grabbed her shirt and yanked it on quickly while Troy grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and put them on. They looked away from the angry stares of Troy's parents. They were about to get into some deep trouble.

A/N: Okay, I know all the teenage girls are screaming here. I'm screaming also, lol. I blame my cousin, Jackie, for getting me hooked on Zac Efron. I won't admit it out loud but I do really like him. I'm not OBSESSED, but still. Lol. Whatever. I hope you all like this chapter. Please review and I might update pretty soon.


	4. The Walk Ins

**A/N:** Hello everyone. I got bored so I decided to update. I hope ya'll love this chapter!!

Recap: When they reached Troy's room, Jack swung open the door and looked in at the sight. Gabriella had pinned Troy down. She didn't have her shirt or shoes on and Troy only had a pair of boxers on. Cara gasped and exclaimed, "What on earth is going on?!"

Troy and Gabriella, alarmed, quickly sat up. Gabriella grabbed her shirt and yanked it on quickly while Troy grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and put them on. They looked away from the angry stares of Troy's parents. They were about to get into some deep trouble.

"Troy Jonathan Bolton!" Cara exclaimed at her son. She was completely dazed at the scene.

Jack came closer and fiercely scooped up Troy's shirt from the bedroom floor. He flung it at Troy and commanded, "Put it on!" He was seriously pissed. Troy and Gabriella were about to get yelled at.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

That next day, Gabriella sat silently in her room listening to Liam and her mother's fight. The fight was about her. The short version of what happened after the Bolton's found Gabriella in Troy's room was that Jack and Cara called her mother and asked her to come over. Soon, her mom was over and the adults and the two teenagers were discussing---wait. Discussing really wasn't the right word to use. The adults were more of discussing this and occasionally yelling or asking the infamous "why" question.

"_I just can't believe this happened under my own roof! And we were only two rooms away! Part of me wishes that I would have _heard_ this and the other part wishes I didn't!" Mrs. Bolton exclaimed during their little 'talk.'_

_Jack just shook his head and stated, "Troy, I am so disappointed in you! You'd think that you'd have enough sense not to 'do it' in this house! Haven't you heard of hotel rooms?" _

_Cara gasped, "Jack! They shouldn't even be having sex! They are still in high school for god sakes!"_

"_Mija, I am so disappointed in you. What were you thinking sneaking out of the house—_again_—and to go over here and…." She trailed off not even wanted to finish the sentence._

Gabriella remembered how she and Troy just sat there quietly. They only said about 2 sentences through out the whole conversation. Gabriella rolled over in her bed and thought about what Troy said.

"Listen," he had said to the adults when they asked them how this came about. "It was all my idea."

Gabriella remembered her mother's disappointed face.

"Gabriella," she said as the conversation was winding down. "How could you do this? I thought I raised you better than this. I always taught you to have sex after marriage. What happened to that? Your virginity is sucked down the tubes now. ¡Pueda a Dios tiene la misericordia en usted!"

She felt so horrible about everything at that point. She almost wished that she could just take back sneaking out and take back making love to Troy, but she couldn't. She didn't really want to take it back either. They loved each other, and that's what mattered

Just then, Gabriella heard her mother shriek out, "Liam, how dare you say that. She loves Troy! She hasn't made the best choices so far, but I know in my heart that she loves him."

Gabriella let out a sigh. She couldn't hear what Liam had said next, because he had the kind of soft and soothing voice that stayed calm during arguments. She hated that. That was worse than being yelled at. Having someone talk it out when you just want to vent out your frustrations. It took something very, very huge to make Liam start yelling. The only thing that she could make out of his side of the conversation was, "Troy" or "Gabriella" so that was basically useless since the argument was about them.

Then her mother let out a loud belt, "You make it sound like Troy raped her or something." Woo…what had Liam said? She carefully crept out of her bed and towards the stairs. She needed to hear what was being said. She stopped about halfway down the stairs and set herself down. Liam and her mom were in the living room, which was practically right beside the stairs. A wall was blocking her view of them and their view of her.

"Maria, please. I'm just saying that Troy is a nice guy and everything, but I don't know if he is really the type to stick around," she heard Liam say soothingly. She gasped out loud. She couldn't believe that Liam said that.

"Liam, we don't know that. Troy's different from the superficial jock guy who hooks up with all the girls. He loves her. He's been with her for two years, Liam!"

Gabriella smiled. She was surprised that her mom was defending Troy especially since the day before she was yelling at him.

"Maria," she heard Liam say softly. "College is different. There will be pretty girls everywhere and he might just find one that he thinks is so-called 'better' than Gabi. I know that's what happened to me. I had a girlfriend from high school that I thought I loved, so we tried a long distance relationship. It lasted for about a semester, than we gradually wrote less and less to each other and soon we each sent a goodbye letter and moved on. I just don't want that happening to Gabriella. It's better that she just moves on now," Liam finally concluded. Maria just shook her head.

"I'm done with this conversation. I'll sleep on it and then I'll ask Gabriella what she thinks."

Gabriella scurried back up to her room and plopped herself on her bed. She wasn't sure what to think about Liam's statement. She loved Liam like he was her own father, but she whole-heartedly disagreed with him. She knew that Troy wouldn't break up with her. Troy would never do that.

Suddenly, a horrifying thought came to her. Her hands slowly slid down to her mid-drift, and she lifted up her tight fitting Hollister top. She stared at her flat stomach and sighed. She could be pregnant.

A/N: Okay, yeah I know…it's a cliffhanger. I blame it on soap operas. They have the thing called "cliff hanger Fridays." That pretty much sucks. LOL. Anywho…please review. LOL that rhymed. My goal is to have more reviews for the sequel than the original. So that means I have about 150 more reviews to go! LOL. Anyway, please review!


	5. Pregnant?

A/N: Sorry everyone! I was gonna update last night but my dad was working on the "daily itinerary" for our trip to Chicago. He's got things planned down to where we are going to stop to "stretch our legs." Lol. He can be obsessive, but oh well. Ohh..yeah. That whole A/N at the end about the cliffhanger Fridays, I'm like obsessed with General Hospital so yeah…lol! Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 5

_Plip-plop, plip-plop_.

Gabriella loved that sound of her flip-flops hitting the ground and then hitting her heel. She was trying to walk quickly that morning so she wouldn't be late to school. She still had to go to Troy's house, too. She had decided to walk herself this Thursday morning.

It had been almost a month since she snuck out to meet Troy. Her mom was barely speaking to her these days, even though she stuck up for Troy and Gabriella's relationship. Gabriella didn't understand her logic. If she was all right with their relationship, then why was she avoiding her? She didn't understand it, but she knew that she should probably stay away from her for a while. So when her mom asked if she needed a ride to school, she decided to avoid an awkward car ride. She didn't exactly want to drive herself either since she wasn't totally comfortable driving anymore. So she walked. That didn't matter because Troy wanted to walk her.

When Gabriella got to his house, she went to the side of his house and reached for her phone. She didn't want to get the angry stares from Troy's parents, so she didn't ring his doorbell, she texted him instead.

_Hey! Im here! Hurry ! _

Troy texted her back right away.

Hey sweetie! Ill b down n a sec… 

Gabriella waited patiently for her boyfriend. She was having some crampy feelings in her stomach. She hunched over and clenched it. She immediately dismissed them as being hungry. Gabriella had banished any thoughts of a pregnancy, because she knew it couldn't be true. It was only one time, so she couldn't get pregnant anyway.

"Hey!" an excited voice came from behind her. Someone grabbed her shoulders and she swore she jumped about a foot in the air.

"Gabi, chill! It's just me, Troy!" Troy said as he turned her around. Gabriella unclenched her hold on her stomach and stood up straight. She slowly sighed in relief.

"God, Troy! You scared me!" she said breathing hard.

Troy's smirk changed into a worried frown. "Gabi, are you okay?" he asked as he tried to give her a hug.

Gabriella grew annoyed and jerked away, "I'm okay, Troy! God!" Gabriella regretted her actions immediately when she saw Troy's face. She softened and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. "Troy, I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress with the wedding and my mom's still pissed at me about the whole….thing. I'm just not getting enough rest. Okay? I'm fine."

Gabriella smiled to try to convince him. Something in his eyes told her he wasn't buying it, but he let it go.

"Alright," he finally said. "You ready?" He grabbed his abandoned school bag that he had thrown on the ground. Gabriella grabbed hers and she walked towards the sidewalk. Troy trailed her and went to her side.

They traveled in silence until they got to school. Gabriella sighed and opened the doors that led to their high school. Troy grabbed the door and held it open for her.

Ugh, she thought to herself. I really don't want to be here.

School was over in a couple of weeks. The magic day that they would graduate was June 17, a Saturday. It was the first day of June.

Sixteen more days, she thought to herself miserably. She just wanted to get out of this school. She slowly passed the trophy case. She looked side ways and saw Troy come up beside her, and he slid his arm around her slender waist.

"I remember when you guys got this trophy," she said as she pointed to the championship basketball trophy that his team won their sophomore year.

Troy smiled and said, "Yeah. I do too. Hey, remember this one? You and the Science Decathlon Team won this."

Gabriella tried to muster a smile but instead she felt tears come to her eyes, "Troy, I still can't believe that Taylor is gone! My best friend is dead, Troy!" She bent down and held her head in her hands as she cried.

Troy tenderly pulled her into his strong embrace and held her. He stroked her hair as she cried.

Suddenly, Gabriella's head shot up, hitting Troy's chin in the process.

"Ouch!" he said painfully as he tried to rub out the pain. Gabriella apologized about a million times, but suddenly she jerked away and bent down holding her stomach in pain.

"Gabi? What's wrong?" Troy asked as he rubbed her back soothingly.

Gabriella looked up and responded, "I don't know, Troy. This has been happening now for a couple of days."

"What exactly has been happening, honey?" Troy asked as he patted her back when she finally stood up.

"Cramps. Only they hurt a lot," she responded simply.

Troy suddenly turned pale. "Gabriella," he said slowly. She looked up at him questionably. "Gabi, when my mom was pregnant a couple of years ago, she started out this way. Do you think you could be pregnant?"

Gabriella looked shell-shocked. She didn't know what to say. She had suspected, but she didn't think it was true. "Troy…" she started. She paused and looked at Troy, carefully studying his face.

Troy then said, "Gabriella, maybe you should go to the doctor." Gabriella just stared at him. She wasn't sure what to say or do.

RRRRIIINNNNNGGGG 

Gabriella's head shot up. The bell to homeroom had just rung and she had to hurry.

"I'll call during lunch and see if I could get an appointment after school. Do you want to come with me?" Gabriella studied Troy's face as he nodded. Gabriella smiled at him and hurried towards her homeroom. Troy continued standing there, staring at the trophy case.

"Pregnant," he mumbled under his breath. "Damn!"

A/N: Idk why I had him say that at the end. It just seemed fitting. LOL. R&R please!


	6. Mind Off of Me

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I appreciate them!

Chapter 6

That whole morning, Gabriella couldn't think about anything other than the possibility that she could be pregnant. She couldn't wrap her mind around it either. She couldn't be pregnant. She wasn't old enough to have a child; she was still one herself! She thought of all the options she had during her English Literature class. By the time that class was over, she hadn't made a decision. Heck, she doesn't even know if she _is_ pregnant!

Troy met her after English Lit. "You ready to go to lunch, Gabs?" he asked using his silly nickname for her. She had no idea why he was so upbeat after they had realized that _she _could be pregnant with _his _child.

"Troy," she said suddenly. "We need to talk about this."

Troy smirked, "About what? Going to lunch?"

Gabriella wasn't in the mood for jokes so she snapped, "No, Troy. I mean about…um… what we discussed this morning."

Troy seemed unfazed by Gabriella's bad mood, so he responded happily. "Sure thing, sweetie."

Gabriella led him towards the lunchroom and they sat down at an abandoned lunch table. "Troy," she started.

"Yeah," he said softly. Gabriella looked up into his blue eyes and almost melted in them. _No!_ She practically screamed at herself. _I need to talk to him about this._

"Okay. I'm not sure how to say this so I'll just say this. If I am pregnant, what are your feelings about how this could effect our relationship?" She tried to make it seem like she didn't care either way, but deep down, she was wishing---no---more like hoping that he would want to stick with her during the pregnancy.

Gabriella carefully studied Troy's face. First it went to a sort of neutral reaction towards an angry reaction. "Are you asking me if I would break up with you just because you're pregnant? Then the answer is no way. Listen to me, Gabi; I would never, ever break up with you! I love you, Gabriella! Can't you see that? I would love you if you were pregnant or if you weren't!"

Gabriella let out a deep sigh. She was hoping with all her heart that that would be his answer. Troy reached for Gabriella's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I love you. Pregnant or not."

Just then Kelsi and Jason came up along with Chad, Zeke, and Ryan trailing along.

"What did you just say!" Kelsi exclaimed at Troy. Her eyes were huge and bugging out.

"Um…." Troy trailed off and looked at Gabriella for support. Gabriella just sunk in her chair and turned pale.

Kelsi rushed over to the seat by Gabriella and grabbed her hand. "Is it true? Are you pregnant?" she asked concernedly.

Gabriella looked down into her lap and fiddled with her hands. "Kelsi….I….I don't know."

Jason, Zeke, Chad, and Ryan sunk down on the lunchroom chairs. They looked shocked and they all stared at Troy and Gabriella.

Zeke finally said something, "Dude, you and Gabriella had sex? I though you guys were gonna be, like, celibate or something." Everyone gave Zeke angry looks and Kelsi mouthed that he wasn't helping.

Troy nodded. "Yes, guys. We had sex," he said simply. Gabriella shot him an angry look and ran towards the bathroom, sobbing.

She angrily hit the wall by the mirror in frustration. She then leaned against it and slid down on the floor. Gabriella started weeping. She was so angry at Troy for announcing that they had sex like that. He made it sound like it was nothing. It was something. It was everything to her. She wiped her tear-stricken face with her sleeve and leaned back against the wall. She let out a deep sigh.

Just then, she heard a loud noise coming from a bathroom stall. It sounded like someone had fell. She got up and ran towards the handicapped stall that she heard the noise from. Gabriella politely knocked and asked if the person in there was okay.

"I'm fine," the girl sniffled out. The voice sounded really familiar. Suddenly she realized who it was.

"Sharpay?" she yelled into the crack.

Gabriella heard her sniffle out, "Gabriella?"

"Yeah, it's me honey! Let me in!"

She heard the stall lock squeak open and Gabriella let herself in. She saw Sharpay sprawled out on the bathroom floor in pain. "Sharpay! Let me help you," Gabriella exclaimed as she started to lift Sharpay's arm up.

"No!" Sharpay exclaimed angrily. "I have to learn to do this on my own, Gabriella!"

Gabriella stepped back and watched Sharpay grab her wheelchair and wheeled it towards herself. She took a deep breath and lifted herself in the chair, both arms clinging to the armrests. When she finally got settled in she let out an exhausted breath and flung her head back on the headrest.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked her in concern. "I heard you fall. That must have hurt a lot."

"I'm okay," Sharpay answered still breathing hard. "It happens all the time."

Gabriella shuddered at the thought of how badly Sharpay has it. She just simply nodded politely and looked around.

"So….I heard you crying," Sharpay said, causing Gabriella to jerk her head back in Sharpay's direction.

"Oh," Gabriella said. "Yeah. I was just a little upset. That's all."

"'That's all'?" Sharpay responded questionably.

Gabriella sighed. "I got mad at Troy for announcing that we had sex to the whole gang," she said simply. She figured she just give Sharpay the short version and spare her the details of the meaningless spat. Sharpay was dealing with something bigger than any of the meaningless things that are happening in Gabriella's life.

"Oh," Sharpay said simply. "Um…Wow. I didn't know that you two had changed your minds about not having sex until you were married."

"Yeah," Gabriella responded. "Nobody really did. Especially my mom, Liam, and the Bolton's."

"Oh!" Sharpay giggled. "So they caught you, huh?"

Gabriella chuckled at the memory that didn't seem funny before. "Yeah. They did."

"That must have been embarrassing."

"Yeah," Gabriella responded. "It was."

"Something like that happened to me and Zeke," Sharpay told Gabriella.

"What? I didn't know that you two had sex!" Gabriella said as she slid to the ground.

Sharpay chuckled. "Yeah. More than once, too. That was fun."

Gabriella was truly shocked. "I had no idea!"

"Yeah," Sharpay said. It was silent then. They both were thinking.

Finally, Gabriella said, "Hey, you never told me about what your experience with being 'caught-in-the-act.'"

Sharpay giggled, "Yeah. Um…well. I'll give you the simple version. Zeke and I were half-way undressed when Ryan barged into my room on us." They both started giggling hysterically. Sharpay then said through laughs, "He wanted to borrow my Switchfoot CD!" Gabriella and Sharpay giggled some more, but finally they stopped and Gabriella let out a sigh.

"Sharpay?" Gabriella said suddenly.

"Hmmm?" she answered deep in thought.

"Did you and Zeke use protection?" Gabriella looked at Sharpay's shocked face.

"Of course," she exclaimed. "Didn't you?"

Gabriella looked down in her lap. "Um….well….not exactly."

Sharpay sat up straight into her chair. "Gabriella! I have never thought you to be so careless!" she said pretending to scold. Gabriella let out a light chuckle but it slowly melted away.

"Sharpay?" she said again looking up at her friend.

"Hmmm?"

"I missed my period Monday."

"Oh," Sharpay said simply. "I'm sorry. Have you gone to the doctor?"

"No," she said. "Troy and I were going to set one up during our lunch period, but we didn't get the chance."

"Oh," she said again. "Do you want to call now and get one?"

"I don't know. I mean, now that I think about it…I'm pretty sure that I am pregnant. I mean, I had just had my period the week before Troy and I had sex and we didn't use protection either."

"Oh," Sharpay said. "So do you not want to go to the doctor?"

"I don't know. I mean, if I know I'm pregnant, than why try to confirm it?'

Sharpay sighed, "Gabriella, you probably should. I mean, what if you aren't? You don't want to be going around buying baby stuff when you aren't really pregnant. I think you should. If you want, I can go to the doctor with you."

Gabriella shook her head, "No, I really should go with Troy. I mean, he is the father and everything. Thank you for offering, though."

Sharpay smiled, "Anytime."

Suddenly the end of period bell rang. Gabriella's head shot up and she got up and brushed off the seat of her jeans.

"We better go," she said as she went towards the stall door.

"Yeah," Sharpay said as she wheeled herself towards the door that Gabriella was holding open for her. She turned in her wheelchair and said, "Gabriella, thanks so much for taking my mind off of me!"

Gabriella giggled and said, "Anytime, Ice Queen, anytime."

They left the bathroom and went towards their respective classrooms.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMSHMSHMSHMSHMSH

That afternoon, Gabriella met up with Troy. They both made up and they walked towards the downtown city bus stop, because they didn't have their cars.

When they got in the bus, Troy didn't let go of Gabriella's hand for one second. He didn't want anything to happen to her. (A/N: I apologize to the people who take the bus, but it's just not the safest….)

They soon got to the downtown doctor's office clinic where they checked in and waited patiently for their turn. Troy never did let go of Gabriella's hand, even when they sat down, waiting. Gabriella noticed a young woman who looked to be about Gabriella's age. She had a small baby in her arms trying to quiet it. Gabriella sighed. She was going to be like that girl.

"Gabriella Montez?" a nurse announced as she walked out of the door that led to the doctors' offices.

Troy gave Gabriella's hand a squeeze as they stood up and walked over towards the nurse.

"Who are you, young man?" the nurse asked as she reached for the door.

"I'm her….um…." Troy looked at Gabriella for support. She understood that if he said that he was her boyfriend, that they might not let him in, so she quickly came to his aid.

"He's my husband," she said quickly.

The nurse nodded and led them down the hall and towards a small room.

"Mrs. Montez, would you sit on the table, please? Mr. Montez, you can sit on that chair right there," the nurse said as she pointed to the near by chair.

The nurse then disappeared out the door and into the hallway.

Gabriella started giggling. "Mrs. Montez? Mr. Montez?" she blurted out.

Troy was chuckling also. "Yeah, I sort of flinched at that name. I don't look too Hispanic, do I?

Gabriella giggled even harder, "No! You don't!"

"I'm your husband, huh?" he teased.

"Yeah, and I'm your wife, so that means that from now on, I'm always right. Okay?"

Troy chuckled, "Yeah, sure whatever." Troy then occupied himself with a powdered glove that he started to blow up.

"Hello, Gabriella!" a voice said from the door.

Gabriella's head jerked toward the door. Troy glanced sideways at the doctor. He still had his lips on the balloon trying to blow it up. Suddenly he let the air out of it and crumpled it in his hand. The doctor chuckled.

"Hey, feel free to do that. I know everyone else does," the doctor said. Gabriella and Troy nervously laughed along. Troy studied the doctor. He was a man who looked well into his 50's who had graying hair and thick glasses on. He was fairly tall, with a bit of a gut on him also.

"Hello," the doctor said as he held out his hand to Troy. "I'm Dr. Mossfield, and you are?"

"I'm Troy Bolton. I'm Gabriella's fiancé," Troy said as he shook Dr. Mossfield's hand. This time he was telling the truth. They knew they were going to marry each other; they just didn't have a formal announcement with a ring and all.

Dr. Mossfield looked to Gabriella for approval. She nodded, and he sat down in his swivel chair. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

Gabriella looked to Troy first and then turned to the doctor. "I think I'm pregnant."

The doctor nodded and grabbed his notepad and started scribbling on it. "Have you missed your menstrual period?" he asked her unfazed by the question.

Gabriella glanced at Troy's embarrassed face, "Yes," she answered.

"When was your last period?" he asked her.

"Last month," she answered.

"Okay," Dr. Mossfield answered as he continued to scribble on it. "How old are you, Gabriella?"

"I'm 18," she answered softly.

He scribbled that down on his notepad again. "What's your birth date?"

"April 26," she answered.

"Are you on any prescription pills and are you allergic to any?"

"No and no," she answered calmly.

Dr. Mossfield turned around in his swivel chair and grabbed a small container. "Can you go to the restroom and urinate in this?" he asked frankly as he handed her the container.

Gabriella nodded and she got up.

"The bathroom is halfway down the hall and to the left. If you get lost then a nurse will help you," the doctor told her.

"Okay," she answered as she left the room.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMSHMSHSMSHMSHMSHMSHMSSH

"Gabriella," Dr. Mossfield said after about 2 hours at the doctor's office. "Have you thought of your options?"

Gabriella nodded. "I don't think I want an abortion. I want to have this baby, but I'm not sure if I want to raise it." Gabriella looked down at her lap. She had just learned that she was pregnant. Troy was sitting beside her and trying to comfort her.

"Troy, what do you think about this?" Dr. Mossfield asked him in a helpful voice.

Troy looked at Gabriella and then responded, "I would kind of like to keep it."

A/N: That was longer than all of my other posts, but oh well. I hope you liked it. The burning question: Is Gabriella going to give the baby up for adoption or is she going to keep it? Hmmm…ONLY I know…lol. Not really. I'm not too sure what I'm gonna do with this story…I just go with the flow. R&R! I need about 130 more reviews to beat my goal.


	7. Kicking Out

A/N: Hey everyone! CONGRALATIONS TO HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL FOR THEIR EMMY NOMINATIONS! LOL. That was pretty random, but oh well. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow so this is going to be a shorter chapter than the one before. It's basically about telling Mrs. Montez about Gabriella.

Chapter 7

After they left the doctor's office, Gabriella and Troy decided to walk home instead of taking the bus. Mostly they did this because they wanted to talk.

"We need to tell my mom, Troy," Gabriella told her boyfriend.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I know. I have to tell my parents too. They'll freak out."

"Same with my mom," Gabriella sighed.

There was a long pause. Finally Troy said, "Gabi?"

Gabriella glanced up at him and said, "Yeah?"

"Um…have you thought about keeping the baby?"

Gabriella sighed and said, "Yeah, of course. I would love to raise this baby with you, but I just don't think that it is practical. We'll be struggling as it is once we get into college."

Troy nodded. "I know Gabriella, but we could work it out. Our parents can help, and I know all of the gang would love to baby-sit."

Gabriella smiled. "It sounds so nice when you put it that way."

Troy gave her a side hug and held her as they walked. "We could get an apartment, or even a married couples' dorm. I'll set up a crib in one of the rooms, and we can share the other. It'll be great. Then we can paint the baby's room blue or pink, depending on what the baby is."

Gabriella sighed. "We can buy the cute baby clothes and dress him or her up. We'd make an adorable nursery with Winnie the Pooh galore!" Troy chuckled at the last part and Gabriella giggled at her joke.

"Troy?" Gabriella suddenly asked her boyfriend as the laughter faded.

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen to us? We still haven't decided which college we are going to, and UCLA hasn't confirmed your scholarship yet so I can't confirm my scholarship yet. What are we going to do?"

Troy sighed. "We don't have to worry about that. Right now, all we have to worry about is telling Liam and your mom."

Gabriella sighed. They soon neared Gabriella's house. She nervously drew out her keys and slid a silver key into the lock. Both took a deep breath as Gabriella pushed it open.

"Mom? Liam? Are you home?" Gabriella called as she entered the living room.

Gabriella's mom suddenly appeared with Liam by her side. "What's going on?" Liam asked.

"Umm…Troy and I have something to tell you," Gabriella said slowly.

Maria and Liam exchanged glances before sitting down on the couch. "What is it?" Maria asked her daughter.

Gabriella and Troy both sat down in the love seat. Gabriella then took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I went to the doctor today."

Maria nodded and said, "And?"

"And…" Gabriella started. She glanced at Troy and he squeezed her hand trying to urge her on. "Mom, Liam. I'm pregnant."

Maria's eyes grew huge and her mouth suddenly dropped. Liam patted her hand and tried to console her but Maria got up and left the room. Troy and Gabriella exchanged glances, while Liam put his head and his hands. He glanced up at the two teenagers and shook his head as if he was somehow let down. A minute later, Maria came back. She had a large duffle bag in her hands.

"Here," she tossed the large bag at Gabriella. It landed at her feet. She bent down and picked it up.

"What's this?" Gabriella asked her mom.

"What does it look like? You're not going to stay here," Maria said flatly.

"What!" Gabriella exclaimed. "This is my home! You can't kick me out."

"I can, and I will. I paid for this house. I went to great lengths to make sure that we were to live in a good neighborhood. I wasn't going to live in the kind of neighborhood we lived in when we lived in San Diego. I strived to make sure that you went to a good school and I made sure you kept your grades up. Ever since the car accident, everything that was important to you went down the tubes. First your GPA drops. Next you drop out of the Science Decathlon. Then you have premarital sex and you get pregnant! What am I suppose to do now Gabriella? Continue letting you make these destructive decisions? No. I'm hoping that by 'kicking you out', you will learn from your mistakes. If your dear father could see you now….well…let's be glad that he can't."

By now, tears were streaming down Gabriella's face. "If Papi could see me now, I know he'd love me just the same. He'd help me, but your not willing to, are you? God! I can't believe you are doing this! You're trying to make me learn from my mistakes? I did! I've been paying for them and paying for them. I shouldn't have let the whole accident happen! Because of that, Taylor died. I shouldn't have had sex before I got married, and I get pregnant. I'm paying for them! Can't you see that? You helped me when Taylor died, why couldn't you help me with this baby? Why, Mami, why?"

Maria sighed. "Gabriella, I think I know how we can fix this. Of course abortion is out of the question. So, the only other option is giving the baby up for adoption."

Gabriella started crying even harder. "No, Mami! I can't do that! I can't give away my own flesh and blood!"

Maria sighed again. "Gabriella, I know it will be hard, but you can't honestly believe that you can take care of a child. You are too young. This is for the best. Gabriella, if you don't do this, than I will not let you continue living here."

Troy embraced her and sighed. "Gabriella, this could be for the best."

Gabriella looked up at her boyfriend, and nodded. By the end of the conversation, Maria had decided to take Gabriella to an adoption agency to talk with them about the adoption process. Gabriella still wasn't sure if she wanted this, but she had to do this if she wanted to still stay in her home.

A/N: I'm sure you all hate Gabriella's folks right now, but it will get better. The answer from last chapter's burning question is…. adoption. This chapter's burning question is: um…idk. LOL. I can't think of a cliffhanger, so just keep reading. I won't be able to update for a week and a half, so please don't forget about my story as I do sometimes.


	8. Florida?

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back from Chicago. I had a pretty good trip. Oh, I have an announcement: I officially own a High School Musical Junior Novel. LOL. I bought it at Borders while in Chicago. I immediately read it and I picked out a few of my mistakes, such as Gabriella and Taylor belonged to the Scholastic Decathlon, not the Science Decathlon. Oh well. Nobody caught it, so that's good. Here's the next chapter:

A week later, Gabriella and Troy had already faced Troy's parents. Jack's reaction was the same as Liam's and Maria's. He seemed shocked, disappointed, and a little angry. Cara was disappointed at first, but she soon dismissed it with plans for the baby. She wanted Gabriella to keep the baby! The two teenagers couldn't believe it. The only problem was that Maria came with Gabriella, and she immediately dismissed the whole idea. She said that Gabi was going to give the baby up for adoption. Cara let out a disappointed sigh, while Jack let out a sigh of relief. Gabriella remembered what he had said to the two teenagers.

_Flashback:_

_Jack looked at his son and let out a sigh. "Son, everything that was good, just went bad. You have a scholarship to a good college. You could play college ball! Remember what I said about how much a scholarship is worth? If you and Gabriella decide to keep this baby, then you will have more responsibility than you can handle. Right now, you and Gabriella need to focus on your future. Do the right thing, son."_

Gabriella watched Troy as his father told him this. Troy said that he would do what he wanted, not what his father wanted. At that, Troy got up and left the room. Gabriella remembered how the door slammed and it seemed to echo throughout the large home.

Right now, Gabriella was sitting in her advanced physics class. She glanced to her right and saw one of Taylor's old friends, Lyndsay. Lyndsay was staring at her. Gabriella jerked up and looked around. She realized that everyone was staring at her, including the teacher.

"Miss Montez? Are you going to give us the answer?" the teacher asked her.

Gabriella fumbled through her notes and glanced up at the board. She slowly drew her head up and said, "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Webb. Could you repeat the question?"

Mrs. Webb sighed and took off her reading glass. "Miss Montez, do you realize that this is the second time that I have called on you, and you have been unprepared to answer my questions? This is not like you. I would like to talk to you at the end of the period, please."

Gabriella, pale and nervous from all the attention, simply nodded and sank in her chair as Mrs. Webb turned and continued teaching.

Soon, that class was over. Gabriella took her time getting up and gathering her books. She dreaded talking to her teacher.

"Miss Montez? I would like to talk to you. Would you come up to my desk?" Mrs. Webb said ask she sat down in her large chair at the front of the classroom. Gabriella meekly swung her backpack over her shoulder and slowly walked up to the front of the room.

"Yes?" Gabriella asked her teacher softly.

Mrs. Webb sighed and looked up at Gabriella. "Gabriella, I have noticed that you have been becoming more and more indifferent towards your work and the participation in this classroom. Is there something wrong at home? I understand that you went through a hard time after that….unfortunate accident in February, but that happened months ago. You had seemed to start to have made progress in late April, but now your grade in physics is slipping. What is going on?"

Gabriella let out an exasperated sigh. She felt as if all the weight that had been on her since the accident, to telling her mom that she was pregnant, came crashing down all at once. She then started to cry softly. Mrs. Webb came rushing over to her side. She seem unprepared for this, but she tried to comfort her student as best as she could.

Gabriella then blurted, "I…I…am….p-pregnant." She couldn't believe she said it until Mrs. Webb said something.

"Oh, Gabriella. I'm sad that this happened to you. You are very young."

Gabriella just merely nodded and wiped her tears away. She stepped away from Mrs. Webb. "I don't know what to do." Mrs. Webb smiled.

"I know how you feel," she told her student trying to comfort her.

Once Gabriella heard this she snapped, "You don't know how I feel at all! You didn't get pregnant when you were my age, did you?" Before Mrs. Webb could respond, Gabriella rushed out of the room towards her locker. She bumped into Zeke.

"Gabriella?" Zeke asked as he steadied her. Gabriella tried to look away but it was no use. Zeke had already seen the tears. "What's wrong?"

Gabriella snapped, "What isn't wrong, Zeke? I'm pregnant. My life is over." Zeke tried to hug her but she jerked him away. "Nobody knows how I feel!"

Zeke sighed and said, "Gabriella, let us try and help you. I know Kelsi is dying to comfort you. She even started writing a song just for you. Chad's trying to understand, too. I know he's asked Troy several times if he or you needed any help. I also know for a fact that Troy is trying damn hard to keep it together for your sake. Don't you get it? You have friends to help you out. Sharpay is trying to help, and you know how she's gotten. You've finally given her some reasoning to come out of her little world. Let us help you!"

Gabriella gave Zeke a questioning look. She finally laughed in spite of herself. "Wow, I really caused that much drama, huh?"

Zeke nodded and gave her a smile. "Yeah, and you're worth it, Gabriella. We all want you to be happy."

Gabriella nodded. She suddenly looked up and started, "Zeke?"

"Yeah?" he responded looking down at the petite brunette.

"Do you think that Troy and I should keep this baby?"

Zeke nodded. "Yeah, I do. I think that it would be good for you and Troy."

Gabriella smiled and responded, "Yeah. I think so too."

Zeke and Gabriella exchanged smiles. Suddenly, Ryan came running up dressed in black slacks and a blue long-sleeved, button-down shirt.

"Hey guys!" Ryan exclaimed as he reached them.

Zeke and Gabriella both greeted Ryan. Ryan seemed to be happier than usual.

"Did you guys hear? Troy's dad just got a letter from Florida. He's got a full scholarship for basketball!" Ryan exclaimed. Both Zeke and Gabriella were a bit surprised. While Zeke was wondering why Ryan was telling them this, Gabriella started to alarm. _Troy can't go to Florida! We were going to UCLA! _

Zeke then turned and yelled at Troy, who was entering the hallway. "Troy! Come here!"

Troy rushed over, grinning from ear to ear. "Did you hear? I've got a full ride to Florida!" Lots of people, who were in the halls, heard and rushed over to Troy to congratulate him. The crowd pushed out Gabriella.

Zeke and Ryan congratulated Troy, but Gabriella stood on the outside of the celebration, looking very pale. She then turned and left the scene. Because of the huge crowd, Troy, Zeke, and Ryan didn't seem to notice.

Gabriella rushed up to the secret place she and Troy shared on the roof, and sank into the bench. She felt so lost; so hopeless. Troy was going to leave her. He was going to leave her and their baby. _Why should he stick around?_ Gabriella thought. _He has opportunities. He can become a basketball star. Troy doesn't need me. _

Gabriella sighed and pressed her hand to her still flat stomach. She had wanted to keep the baby, but now she wasn't sure about it. Gabriella couldn't raise this baby alone. She would have to go through with the adoption.

Suddenly, Gabriella heard feet coming up the stairs. She jerked up to look at the person who was coming up. It was Troy.

Gabriella let out a sigh. "What are you doing up here?"

Troy walked over and sat down next to her on the bench. "I could ask you the same question," he said coolly.

Gabriella looked away. "I just needed to chill."

Troy glanced down at his feet. "Gabriella, Zeke told me about what happened. He told me that you were thinking about keeping the baby."

Gabriella turned to Troy and nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking that." She felt herself get angry again. Troy noticed this also.

"What's wrong?" he asked his girlfriend as he slid his arm around her shoulders.

Gabriella jerked away and stood up. "'What's wrong?'" she demanded. "What's wrong is you are going away! I thought you wanted to be with me….and the baby!"

Troy stood up and went over to Gabriella. "I do want to be with you. I haven't accepted it yet! I don't even know if I will." Troy let out a sigh and embraced Gabriella. "Are you wanting to have the baby?"

Gabriella looked up at Troy and nodded. "I want the baby more than anything. Don't you?"

Troy nodded and hugged her even tighter. "We'll work it out. I promise."

A/N: I really didn't like this chapter. It wasn't my best work, but I really needed to update. Please review!


	9. The Boltons' Debate

A/N: I'm sort of in a rut right now. I have no idea what to write next. I sort of lost my motivation after that last chapter. It just really disappointed me. So basically I'm just gonna start writing and see what happens next…

Chapter 9

That same day during lunch period, Troy went downstairs to see his father in his office. Troy found his father with his feet kicked up on his desk, reading the newspaper. Troy took a deep breath and walked into his father's office.

Jack looked up from the letter he was reading and smiled at his son. "Troy! Sit down, son."

Troy grabbed the seat that was pushed off into the corner and sat in front of his dad. Jack put his feet under his desk and pushed his newspaper away. "So, son. What's on your mind?"

Troy started, "Well…Dad. It's about my scholarship…"

Jack started beaming and interrupted, "Isn't it great son? You can be a real big shot there. You can relive my glory days. The best part is that you won't have to worry about paying student loans and that stuff. Everything is paid for!"

Troy sighed. "Dad, I don't think I'm going to take the scholarship."

Jack nearly had a heart attack when he heard this. "What! Troy, you have to! This is your big chance! You need to accept this. Florida is a great school, and they have a great team, too. We can't afford to pass this up, son!"

"What about what I want? I want to go to UCLA with Gabriella." Troy shot back angrily.

Jack responded with as much fire as his son had, "Gabriella! Why is it always about her? You need to do this for you! You want to play college ball, don't you?"

"Yes, but I want Gabriella more. I love her, Dad, and she loves me. She is also having my baby! That changes things, don't you think!" Troy's voice must have been loud enough to hear the conversation from the locker room, but he didn't care.

Jack sighed and started. "She's giving the baby up for adoption, isn't she?"

Troy shook his head no. "We've decided not to."

Jack again sighed and brought his hands up to his throbbing head. He tried to massage it out, but the pain was still there. Troy then started up again.

"Dad, it's our decision. Not yours. We're adults. We can do this."

Jack again looked up and said, "Troy, you can't possibly do this. You are only 18 years old. If you don't go to Florida, then you will have it even harder, with tuition, student loans, apartments….I just don't think you really know what you're getting into."

Troy started desperately. "I can work for a scholarship. I can walk on. It won't be a big deal. And besides, I could still get that scholarship from UCLA."

Jack shook his head and said, "No, son. You don't get it. If it takes this long to get a letter, it's usually a letter declining a scholarship. Troy, UCLA is known for it's high standards. I just don't know if you realize that you can't get in a being a good basketball player. You have to be almost goddamned perfect. I'm sorry, but I don't think that you will get in."

Troy's mind raced to Gabriella, and how they could stay together. He immediately dismissed it. "Dad, I got to go."

Jack nodded. "Me too. I've got P.E. in 20 minutes."

Both Boltons got up and went their separate ways out the door.

A/N: That's all I really felt like writing. I guess I do that a lot, but oh well. I'm kind of frustrated with this story. I'm fresh out of ideas, and I think I might just abandon this and work on another project for a while. Maybe that will clear my head. I just don't think that this sequel is living up to the original. Oh well. Please review. Suggestions are WARMLY welcomed.


	10. UCLA?

Author's Note: FINALLY, I am updating. It's seems to have been a century since I've updated this. I've had this chapter half way written for a long time, but I could never find the time to fully finish it. Tell me what you think.

Chapter 10

The week dragged on and soon, graduation day approached. The ceremony was being held in the school auditorium.

The day started out rainy and cold. Troy slowly got out of bed thinking one thing: graduation was that day. Troy then glanced at his clock. It read 8:35. He then went to his bathroom and showered. He put on his old Wildcat t-shirt and some khaki shorts, and went downstairs.

When he reached the kitchen, his mother greeted him. "Troy! Today's the day!" Cara came up to him and kissed his cheek. Troy, being an 18-year-old guy, of course wiped it away.

"Yeah, it is," Troy said slowly.

Cara then pointed to the counter and said, "A letter from UCLA came."

Troy looked over at the counter and walked over to search for the letter. He first found the opened acceptance letter to the University of Florida. Then he found a thin envelope that had UCLA on it.

_Oh God,_ Troy thought miserably as he picked up the envelope. _A thin envelope means_ _I didn't get in._

As he opened the envelope, his mind raced to Gabriella. Would he have to take her to Florida? What would she say?

The envelope contained a simple folded up letter. Troy read it carefully:

**Dear Mr. Bolton,**

**We regret to inform you that your scholarship has been turned down for the 2006-2007-school term. **

Troy's heart must have skipped a beat. He knew this would happen, but he didn't expect the words to seem so brutal. There was still more to the letter:

**This does not however affect your acceptance into UCLA. On behalf of the staff and faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles, we hope that you will still consider enrolling in our institute. Also, please continue to support our school through sports and academics. **

**Sincerely, **

Raymond Miller 

**Board of Admissions**

_That's it,_ Troy sighed to himself. _I didn't get the scholarship. Gabriella…_

Troy ignored his mother who was trying to comfort him. He had to go talk to Gabriella. "Hey Mom?"

Cara turned to her son, "Yes sweetie?"

"Um…I'm gonna go to Gabi's for a little bit."

Cara nodded. "Alright. Just make sure that you are at the school by 4:45, Troy. You don't want to miss your own graduation."

Troy nodded his head as he turned towards the door.

"Troy?" Cara called after her son.

Troy turned around to face his mother, "Yeah?"

Cara sighed. "I'm sorry about UCLA."

Troy nodded. "Yeah. I am too."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHS

"I didn't get in. They even had the nerve to ask if I would still support them! I mean, what kind of asshole would write that? A kid just got a rejection letter, and they are asking me to support them!"

Gabriella sighed. Troy had been over at her house for about 30 minutes. He had just started to talk about the letter. "What are you going to do?"

Troy was still fuming, "Well, I sure as hell am not gonna support them now."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I mean…what are _we_ going to do now?"

"I don't know. I was thinking that maybe you could come with me to Florida."

Gabriella was speechless. She paused and then choked out, "W-what? Why are you asking me this?"

Troy sighed, "Because, I didn't get the scholarship. I can't possibly afford to walk on to UCLA. Do you know how much it's gonna cost? I want you and the baby to come with me to Florida. I'm sure that with your grades, you'll be accepted. We can get married dorm rooms…"

"Troy! Stop," Gabriella fought to calm down. "Troy, you can't expect me to follow you. I mean, if you wanted me to follow you to somewhere like Sacramento, than I'd do it in a heartbeat. But you want me to go to Florida? That's all the way across the country! I can't do that. What about my family?"

Troy was angry now. He stood up and threw, "Gabriella! I though we were family! You, me, and the baby."

Gabriella also stood up and yelled just as loud, "What are you talking about? The baby isn't even born yet! You can't expect me to follow you everywhere, Troy. If it was just me, than I might consider it. But I'm taking care of two people right now. Are you absolutely ready to do the same?"

Troy then hurled back. "Of course I am. I've been ready! I've been trying to hold us together ever since I woke up. I've been stretched to my thinnest. I've been stretched so far lately, that I've thought that I'd break anytime now!"

Gabriella spit out, "Well, I guess you've finally broke!"

"Yeah, because of this whole situation. It's my fault this happened! Okay? I shouldn't have got you pregnant."

Gabriella scoffed. "You can say that again!"

Troy looked hurt. "What's going on with you? Why are you acting this way?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You want to know what's wrong? You are what's wrong. You haven't been doing anything. I'm the one who's trying to keep us together!"

Troy looked away. "You aren't the only one making sacrifices, you know. I've been trying to hold us together also. It's been hard, but I think we are worth it." Troy then turned to Gabriella, "Don't you think so?"

Gabriella paused. She looked down at her feet. Finally, in a shy and timid voice she responded, "Troy, I do think we are worth it, but look what's happening to us. We're already fighting and we aren't even married yet. I don't think either of us knows what to do."

Gabriella let out a sigh and fell back down on her bed. Troy sat down beside her and looked into her eyes, "I don't know what to do, you're right about that. But if you are honestly having huge doubts about getting married, than I think they are misplaced. We've been practically married since our sophomore year! I mean, we have always agreed to stay faithful to each other and to encourage one another. We've always had a commitment Gabriella; it just wasn't in an official form of marriage. I know we can do this. Just give it a chance, honey."

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and let her cry. He knew this was hard for him, but he couldn't imagine all the stress she is going through. With her mom pressuring her to get an adoption, the baby itself, Gabriella and his relationship, and all the posttraumatic stress from the accident--she was going through a lot. He realized that she needed him and he wasn't making it very easy for her during her pregnancy. Wasn't that what a good father would do? Troy thought of his own father and all of his dreams for Troy. It seemed to him that everything seemed to be going way too fast. If he were told last year that the accident and Gabriella's pregnancy would happen, he would think that the person who told him was crazy. Then again, this reality was crazy, but he was going to have to make a decision. He slowly thought it all out as he held his girlfriend tightly. He then came to a conclusion that was the most practical if he wanted to stay with Gabriella and the baby.

"Gabriella?" he asked his girlfriend as he pulled away.

"Yeah?" she answered as she wiped away her tears.

Troy grabbed her hand and said, "What would you say if I asked you to elope with me?"

Gabriella's face went from shocked to happy in an instant. "I'd say," she paused and searched Troy's face to see if he was sincere. She saw swallowed when she saw his eager face. "I'd say yes."

Troy beamed with excitement as he passionately kissed her. He then stood up and dug through his pocket and pulled out a silver ring band and slipped it on her left ring finger. Gabriella grinned as she stood up and gave him a kiss. Troy then led her out the door and downstairs. They had silently agreed to tell the parents before they did anything rash. They found Maria in the kitchen chopping up some fruit for breakfast. She looked up when she saw the two side-by-side holding hands. She put the chopping knife down and turned to face the two eighteen year olds.

"What's going on?" she asked glancing at their entwined hands. Gabriella eagerly lifted up her left hand and held it out so her mom could see the ring. Maria looked completely shocked.

"What's going on? You two can't honestly think about getting married. You are only 18!"

Troy exchanged a look with Gabriella and spoke up, "Mrs. Montez, we'd like your blessing."

Maria shook her head as she turned back towards the fruit. "You both are too young. It won't last especially if you have a baby involved."

Gabriella protested, "Mami, how do you know? Troy and I love each other, and we would never get a divorce."

Maria stopped chopping and turned to face her daughter. "I know because I heard both of you fighting upstairs. That's going to happen, I know it. It wouldn't be fair to either of you or this baby."

Troy intervened. "We love each other and this baby, Mrs. Montez. We are just stressed out and needed to vent. If I didn't love her, don't you think that I would have broken up with her a long time ago? "

Maria again shook her head stubbornly. "I just don't want you two to ruin your lives. You could move on if you just went through with the adoption. It's better for everyone. That way Troy can go to Florida, and you can go to UCLA, Gabi."

"I don't want to go to Florida, Mrs. Montez. I want to stay with Gabriella and go to UCLA," Troy responded boldly.

Mrs. Montez sighed and started, "Troy, you are making a mistake. You'll have thousands of dollars in student loans if you go to UCLA, and if you are seriously wanting to marry Gabriella, then you won't be doing either of yourselves a favor."

Gabriella immediately retaliated by saying, "At least we'll be together. Just because you didn't get to have your happily-ever-after with Daddy, doesn't mean that you should hold Troy and me back."

Gabriella stared fiercely at her mother waiting for an answer. Finally, Maria let out a sigh and responded, "Alright. I'll give my blessing, but only on one condition."

Troy, grinning from ear to ear, responded eagerly, "Anything."

Maria then said, "I want you both to call me or Troy's parents if you need anything, or it becomes too much for you both. If you intend on being parents, than you must know that raising a baby is no picnic. It's hard work and you have to work at it. It's the same with marriage; you have to work at it. So, I want to hear from you, all right? Call and e-mail me to tell me how you are doing."

Gabriella embraced her mother and kissed her. "Thank you so much, Mom!"

Troy gave Mrs. Montez an embrace also, and as he hugged her, Mrs. Montez told him to take care of Gabriella.

After all the hugging, Mrs. Montez told the two to go tell the Boltons. They both agreed and left the house. As they backed out of Gabriella's driveway in Troy's car, Gabriella finally said something.

"That went well, didn't it?" she commented as Troy gave her a smirk.

"Yeah, just wait until my dad hears that I'm giving up the scholarship. I'm warning you, all hell is going to break loose."

A/N: I know. Bad place to end it, but I just want to get this out. I'm too excited to hold off any longer.


	11. The Boltons

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for not updating in a long time! I've been pretty busy, but that's not an excuse. I've been working on this for a while, but I haven't really found time to finish it up until now. So please enjoy!

Chapter 11

_Previously: "That went well, didn't it?" she commented as Troy gave her a smirk._

"_Yeah, just wait until my dad hears that I'm giving up the scholarship. I'm warning you, all hell is going to break loose."_

As Troy drove to his house, Gabriella was nervously fidgeting with her tee-shirt. She kept on lifting it up and staring at her stomach. Troy was trying to focus on his driving, but finally after what seemed to be the millionth time Gabriella had flashed her still-flat stomach, he joked, "Does it look different every time, or what?"

Gabriella gave Troy a broad smirk. "No, I just find it hard to believe I'm gonna get huge in a couple of months."

Troy chuckled softly. "Yeah, that's the whole downside to this pregnancy. My soon-to-be-wife is going to look like a blimp."

Gabriella let out a sarcastic gasp and playfully hit her fiancé. Troy gave her a huge, toothy grin in response as he pulled into his driveway.

As Troy turned off his truck, he turned to Gabriella with a straight face. "Gabi, what if he doesn't go for this? I don't want to get married if he doesn't give his blessing. That'd be horrible. Just think about what be like at Thanksgiving or Christmas," Troy tried to lighten to mood with that last comment, but it failed to amuse Gabriella. Instead she gave him an equally straightforward response.

"I don't know what'd we do. I guess either we'd have to wait until he's more comfortable, or just get married without his blessing. Personally, I don't want to do either."

Troy then leaned over to open his truck door. He ran around to the other side to open the door for Gabriella. She smiled at his gesture. It was an old habit of his. She remembered how taken-aback she was when he had first done that for her on their first date. She had never had a guy treat her like that before. Of course she hadn't dated too many guys before Troy, but still, it was something new and it made her love Troy even more, if it was possible.

Troy gave her a slight nod and carefully helped her out of the big truck.

Gabriella quickly responded a polite "thank you" to her fiancé and gave him a peck on the cheek. Troy smiled and grabbed for her hand. They walked slowly up the steps to Troy's front door, hand in hand. Troy quickly opened the door and held it open for Gabriella. She stepped in and turned to wait for Troy as he came in.

As familiar as the Bolton house was, she was suddenly very nervous and she felt like a stranger. Even though the Boltons seemed like an extended family to her during the past couple of years, she had never felt totally accepted. That was soon about to change…

"Mom? Dad? Where are you?" Troy shouted as they stood in the foyer. They waited for someone to come bounding down the stairs or up the stairs. Soon, Cara and Jack had both respectably come from different places and joined the two teenagers.

"Troy? What's going on?" Cara asked her soon as she eyed her son's hand entwined with Gabriella's.

Troy quickly motioned for the two to sit down in the living room. They obliged and sat down on the large couch, while Troy and Gabriella sat in the love seats. Before Troy began to proceed to tell his parents about their news, Troy let in a huge breath and slowly exhaled. Gabriella also gave his hand a comforting squeeze to reassure him.

Troy then began, "Mom, Dad. I—I mean, we would like to let you know that we have decided what we want to do about college…and—and about the baby."

Cara and Jack nodded nervously and urged them to go on.

Troy again started. "W-we have decided that I won't accept the scholarship to Florida. We're going to get married and we'll go to UCLA, together."

Troy closed his eyes and waited for the yelling. Much to his dismay, his parents didn't say a word. Troy uneasily opened his eyes and stared at his parents, searching for some type of emotion. They looked completely blank. Finally, Cara said something.

"Troy, this is a shock, but it was expected."

Troy blinked and stared at both his parents. "What are you talking about? How'd you know I'd want to do this?"

Jack managed a slight uneasy smile and said slowly, "We figured you'd want to get married to Gabriella and keep the baby. Although we weren't quite sure about what you'd do about college, though. I'll admit, I don't agree with your choice. I'd rather see you go to Florida and not waste thousands of dollars just to get the same type of education at UCLA that you could, by the way, get at Florida," Cara nudged Jack warningly and gave him a cautioning look. Jack rolled his eyes and continued, "But your mother and I talked," Jack paused and glanced at his wife uncertainly and then continued. "We decided that we wouldn't interfere. Well…actually it was your mother who decided, but I agreed. Son, we just want what is best for you and Gabriella…and the baby." Cara gave Jack an approving nod and they then turned their attentions to Troy and Gabriella.

Troy's mouth was literally agape by what his father had just said. He couldn't quite find the words to say. He was glad when Gabriella did it for him. "Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Bolton! You don't know how much this means to us. Thank you!"

Cara and Jack then stood up and reached to embrace the two. Gabriella was shocked at their reaction. Was this really the same Boltons that she has known for two years? They sure weren't acting like it, but she didn't question it. She just figured that they knew what they were doing.

When all the hugging was finished, Cara finally spoke up, "So…when's the wedding?"

Gabriella and Troy broke out laughing. The calmed down and Troy said, "I don't know, but soon."

Cara nodded and Jack decided to speak up, attempting to lighten the mood, "Before the kid's born, right?"

Gabriella and Troy nodded and let out a laugh and the four continued to hug and chat about the marriage and baby.


	12. Getting Ready for Graduation

A/N: Sorry for the late update. There's no excuse. Last week was homecoming week and it was hilarious. We had two dress-up days on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday was a Pride Day, which basically means that we must wear an approved shirt that has our school's name on it and jeans. We also had a pep rally which we had a tug-of-war and a lip-sync dance off. I was on the tug-of-war team and we got our butts whooped! Hehe! It was funny. Anyway, Friday night we won our football game against West High. I believe the final score was 61-7 or something along those lines. Then Saturday night was the dance. I went to church and then I went to Chili's for supper (I think I ended up getting food poisoning because I felt horrible when we got to the dance). The dance was okay—nothing great. Anyway, here's the next update!

Chapter 12

After talking with Troy's parents for a bit, Gabriella felt like a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders. As Troy was driving Gabriella home, she began to think about their lives together in a few years. She could believe how fast this was going. It almost seemed surreal to her, but then she looked into Troy's eyes, and she knew that this was the real thing.

When Troy pulled into Gabriella's driveway, he turned to her and let out a sigh and smiled. Gabriella returned the smile and reached for Troy's hand. She then tenderly placed his large hand on her stomach and sighed. She then looked up at Troy to see his reaction. He was staring solemnly at her stomach, looking very much deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriella asked him concernly.

Troy seemed to come out of his trance and blinked. "Nothing. I was just thinking about how much I love you."

Gabriella smiled and said, "I love you too." Troy gave her a quick peck and took his hand off her stomach. He then got out of his truck and raced to the other side to help Gabriella out. Gabriella let out the standard "thank you" and they walked to the front door.

As they reached the door, Gabriella started, "I can't believe today's the day we will graduate!"

Troy nodded. "I know. I certainly didn't picture graduation day going down like this."

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, I didn't either."

After a prolonged pause, Gabriella finally spoke up. "What time is it Troy?"

Troy quickly glanced at his wrist and exclaimed, "A quarter till 4!"

"Omigosh! I've got a million things to do. My aunt still has to do my hair! I have to get dressed do my make-up….I've gotta go!"

Troy let out a chuckle as he watched Gabriella go into berserk mode. Gabriella stuck out her tongue as she dug through her purse for her house keys. When she found the keys she gave Troy a quick kiss goodbye and raced into her house. Troy, still smirking, shook his head and headed back to his car. All he had to do was put on a suit and tie and he was ready to go. _Girls are too much to handle sometimes, _Troy thought to himself as he headed home.

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As Gabriella was going berserk, Sharpay was just putting the finishing touches on her outfit. She had spent half of the day in the salon getting the works: a facial, manicure, pedicure, make-up, and hair. It wasn't her idea, but her mom insisted on it. She told Sharpay that she needed to feel special today. Sharpay was glad that her mom made her do it, because she felt great. Although she wasn't able to walk across the stage to receive her diploma, she didn't let that get her down. She was going to graduate from high school that day! This was the day she had waited for all her life, and she couldn't be happier.

In the next room, Ryan was also getting ready. Well…sort of. He was really sitting on his bed going through old picture albums. He came across a photo of him and Sharpay each with a plastic microphone in their hands. Sharpay was dressed up as a princess and Ryan was in a knight's costume. Sharpay was supposed to be a princess in distress, while Ryan was the knight-in-shining armor. He remembered that at the time the picture was taken they were singing some silly song that Sharpay had made up and forced Ryan to sing with her. Ryan remembered that it was about finding your one true love and running to the stars with them. Ryan couldn't help but bitterly think that neither of those wishes came true. Sharpay wasn't with her one true love, and she couldn't run to the stars. Ryan slammed the book shut and sharply thought; _nobody could actually run to the stars. Get a hold of yourself, it's just a stupid made up song._

"Ryan?"

Ryan quickly turned to his door and looked at who had just said his name. It was Sharpay. She must have wheeled herself to his room while he was thinking.

"Yeah?" he responded as he put the album to the side.

Sharpay wheeled herself over to Ryan's bed and said, "It's almost time to go. Are you ready?" Sharpay eyed the album and asked, "What's this?"

"It's nothing. Just an old album," Ryan said pushing it to the side. Sharpay gave Ryan a questioning look. Ryan sighed, knowing that he couldn't keep anything from his twin and responded, "I was just looking back…back on the good times."

Sharpay nodded understandingly. "I know. It's hard to believe that this all happened these past few months."

Ryan nodded in return. "Yeah."

They both sat there silently for a bit until Sharpay cleared her throat and said, "Ryan, we've got to get to school."

Ryan nodded and slowly got up. Sharpay turned her wheelchair around and lead the way out of Ryan's room and down the hall to the elevator her parents had installed after the accident. Ryan slowly trailed her, trying hard to be excited about the upcoming events.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMSHMSHMSHMSHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

At that exact same time, Chad was driving over to Troy's house. They had both agreed beforehand that they would meet at Troy's house before the ceremony, and Chad would take Troy to school. Chad still wasn't quite sure why Troy wanted him to drive, but he didn't think too hard about it. He was too excited for graduation to really care. He still couldn't believe that he was going to graduate.

Soon, Chad had arrived at Troy's house. Troy wasn't outside so Chad went ahead and knocked on his door. Mrs. Bolton answered.

"Chad. Come on in. Troy should be down in a second," Mrs. Bolton said as she held the door open for Chad.

"Thanks," he responded to Troy's mom as he stepped into Troy's house. He then went into the living room and sat down to wait for Troy.

After about 10 minutes of waiting and listening to Mrs. Bolton nagging at Troy to get downstairs, Troy finally appeared in a dress shirt and tie, holding the hanger that held his red graduation gown, and wearing a cocky smile. Chad, wearing the same cocky smile, stood up and gave Troy the manly hug.

"You ready man?" Chad asked Troy as they stepped into the foyer.

"As ready as I can be," Troy responded excitedly.

Before they could get any further, Mrs. Bolton stopped them.

"Wait guys! I need a picture of you two!" She said as she held up her digital camera.

Both guys rolled their eyes and turned and posed for a picture. Mrs. Bolton smiled and clicked a couple of pictures. When she was finished, she stepped up to both boys and gave them each a kiss. The two boys smiled at her and then turned and went out the door and headed for Chad's car.

A/N: I'm sorry, I know many of you wanted more drama, but there will be drama in the next chapter, I can promise that. In the mean time, just stay tuned... 


	13. Old Regrets

A/N: Everyone, I apologize for not updating in such a long time. My standard excuse seems to be that I've been busy. But this story seems to be winding down so I'll try to finish it. There will be one more chapter after this one. Thanks to all the reviewers. They make all the difference!

"Chad," Troy said suddenly before they got into Chad's car.

"What, Troy?" he asked as Troy walked over to the driver's seat and standing face-to-face with Chad.

"Let me drive, would ya?" Troy asked as he reached for Chad's keys.

Chad jerked the keys out of his reach and asked curiously, "Why?"

"Chad, please don't argue with me on this. I need to do something," Troy said calmly. When he noticed Chad's confusion and reluctance he quickly said, "I'm not going to do anything to your car, I just need to stop somewhere before we head to school, okay?"

Chad was reluctant, but slowly nodded, choosing to trust Troy and grant his wish.

Troy said a hasty 'thank you,' and quickly got into Chad's car and waited for Chad to get into the passenger seat.

After they were both in the car and set, Troy pulled out of the drive way and drove in the opposite direction of the school.

They drove for quite a ways down a highway before Troy finally parked the car on the shoulder.

Chad nervously looked around as he slowly realized where Troy had drove them to. He looked over at Troy. He was gripping the steering wheel and looked very pale and agitated.

Troy then spoke up. "Chad, I need to do this. I think you do too. We have to face what happened here."

_What happened here? _Troy wasn't even positive what happened here. He only knew what everyone told him. He couldn't remember the details, but he wasn't quite sure--by the way Gabriella and the others described it--that he wanted to remember it. But, he had to face it. Troy slowly got out of the car and started towards the deep ditch. At the bottom, there was a small, wooden cross posted in the ground.

Chad dully followed him and glanced at the cross. Then his eyes hit the large oak tree—the same tree Taylor was found next to.

He blinked and looked away to focus on Troy. Troy was lifelessly squatting near the cross that bewared Taylor's name.

Chad squatted down next to him. To others watching, they must have looked ridiculous. They were two young men, kneeling in a ditch in a gown and cap, and they were staring at a cross. To Troy and Chad, they felt like this was the most normal, most natural thing to do.

Troy looked over at his friend and sorrowfully said, "I'm sorry, man. I can't imagine what you guys went through right after the accident. I should have been with you guys."

Chad nodded and responded, "I wish you were with us too, man. Maybe I would have cooped with it better at the time."

Troy, confused, looked at his friend and asked, "What are you talking about? I thought you cooped with it better than anyone else."

Chad shook his head and started, "I never told any of you guys this. I haven't even told my parents this," Chad paused and started. "The doctors had to put me on suicide watch right after I woke up in the hospital, Troy. After the nurse told me what happened and how Toy died, I couldn't deal. I went crazy and the doctor got freaked and took all the surgical instruments and the needles away from me."

Troy was so surprised. "Why didn't your parents know? Didn't the doctors tell them?"

Chad responded, "No. I told them not to. I promised them I would tell my parents, but I never did. I didn't want to worry them even more. But after I got back to school, grief councilors made me sit down and talk to them about the accident. I fessed up about what happened when I found out about Taylor. They wanted me to go to a professional. I figured I didn't need to, until after the funeral. I finally broke down and went to see one. My parents knew that something was up with me, but I didn't tell them about what was going on."

Troy nodded and sighed. "Man, I hate what this did to us. It isn't fair. I mean, I was so caught up with Gabriella, I feel like I haven't been there for you lately, dude. And not only you, everyone."

"Troy, man, you don't have to be sorry about that. We get it. Gabs and you have a baby coming, you should be focusing on that," Chad said.

"Yeah, I guess," Troy said sadly. They lingered at the ditch for a few minutes more, staring at the wooden cross. Silently Troy sat up and brushed the dirt off his gown and Chad did the same. They then proceeded towards their car and drove to their graduation.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHS

After Chad had parked the car, he stopped Troy before he could climb out.

"Troy?" Chad started as he shut off the car.

Troy looked at Chad curiously and said, "Yeah?"

Chad cleared his throat and started, "You know how I had been wanting to talk with Taylor's parents for a while?"

Troy nodded, remembering how Chad had been nervously deciding how to approach the McKessies.

Chad sighed and started, "I went to see them yesterday."

Troy nodded and asked curiously, "What'd they say?"

"Well…they said that they weren't surprised that I was going to ask her to marry me. They knew that I had loved her for the longest time," Chad paused contemplating about what he was going to say next. Troy nodded trying to urge him to go on.

Chad then started again, "I then asked them if they would have approved. They said that if Taylor was still alive today….well, they weren't quite sure." Troy looked at Chad and nodded. He knew that he should say something but he didn't know what to say at that point. Instead he responded with, "Oh."

Chad shifted in his seat and suddenly turned to Troy with a solemn face. "I know this might be strange but, what do you think would of happened with me and Taylor?" Chad paused and searched Troy's face to see if he understood. Immediately when he saw Troy's lack of comprehension he tried to clarify.

"What I mean is…if Taylor was still alive, do you think that she would want to marry me. And by 'me', I mean the kind of guy I was before the accident. I'm not sure if she'd like me now better or like the kind of guy I was before."

Troy looked down for a second to try to ponder his answer. Finally he looked up and looked Chad in the eyes. "I think that if Taylor saw what you were like now, she couldn't help but be proud of you. I know I am, dude," Troy said softly. Chad let out a small smile and nodded.

"Thanks Troy. I appreciate that," Chad said thoughtfully. After processing everything for a second, Chad cleared his throat and said, "Man, I think we should get in there. Graduation is almost starting."

Troy nodded and opened his car door and joined Chad as they silently walked towards their high school doors.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHS

As soon as the two senior guys walked into the gym, Gabriella, Kelsi, Sharpay, Jason, Ryan, and Zeke surrounded them.

"Where were you guys? Troy's mom said you guys left Troy's house an hour ago!" Kelsi exclaimed as she nervously clutched her cap.

Troy and Chad exchanged smiles and Troy stated, "Saying goodbye to old regrets."


	14. Graduation

A/N: Sorry for the terribly long wait. I literally have been stumped on the right way to end this story. The first story was so incredibly easy to write because I had the whole story planned out already. I had to wing it on this one. So again, I apologize.

Here's the last chapter.

Chapter 14

"Troy Jonathan Bolton."

The announcer stated his name slowly and memorably. Troy felt indescribably relieved and happy as he slowly walked up to East High's stage to accept his diploma.

"Congratulations, Troy," Principal Matsui told him as they shook hands and turned towards the camera man to take the picture of the moment.

Troy was beaming so hard that his jaw began hurting. However, he was too happy to care. As he was walking off the stage, he turned to watch Jason and Chad, who were next in line, receive their diplomas.

Jason was the first to accept his diploma and Chad soon followed. Jason and Chad were also beaming as they had their pictures taken with their diplomas and received congratulations from Principal Matsui and the roaring crowd cheering for them respectively. Although nobody was cheering as loudly for Chad as Troy was. He was so proud of Chad for not only achieving his high school diploma, but also for his acceptance into college.

After his picture, Chad bolted off the stage and gave Troy another one of their "man-hugs" and they proceeded back to their seats next to Jason. Zeke, who had received his diploma before Troy, high-fived each and asked, "So…tell me what really happened. Why were you and Chad so late, Troy?"

Troy looked over at Chad, grinning, and said, "Well…right before graduation, I got to thinking about how none of our problems seemed to really go away. I could tell how broken up Gabi and Chad were over Taylor's death considering they knew her best. I've been spending so much time with Gabi lately, that I felt like I was leaving Chad out to dry."

"Troy, I never felt that way—" Chad started.

Troy ignored him and continued, "I was so wrapped up in me and Gabi's problems that I didn't think about how you were feeling about this stuff. So it got me thinking about how I never had actually been back to where it happened. I've been avoiding it ever since it and everything. I figured that this would give us the chance to kind of get over it; the both of us—together."

Zeke and Jason nodded, understandingly and turned their attention back at the stage. The announcer had just finished announcing all of the "D" and most of the "E" last names and next up was Ryan.

"Ryan Alexander Conrad James Evans."

All the guys rolled their eyes at his name and laughed out loud at it. Ryan was just the type of person to have such a long name.

Ryan quickly achieved his diploma and stepped off the stage beaming in delight on his achievement.

Sharpay was next. Since she couldn't walk up the stage, she was going to wheel herself up the ramp backstage and go to the front stage to accept her diploma. She grandly accepted it and waved at all the cheering people. Troy snickered at how much she seemed like a beauty queen at that moment. _She finally got the chance to be on stage and put her alpha ego to the test again,_ Troy thought with a smile.

Troy watched Sharpay then got her picture taken and quickly whip her wheelchair around and head out backstage. Troy looked over at Ryan and saw him smile sweetly at his twin sister. Ryan's expression displayed how deeply proud he was of his sister—a look he gave rarely these days due to Sharpay's lack of interest in anything she remotely was into before the accident. Although she's not as much herself as she was before the accident, Troy knew that she would turn out great. She recently expressed great interest in becoming a drama teacher, like Ms. Darbus. She decided to go to the state university and pursue a teaching degree.

After several more graduates, Gabriella was up next.

"Gabriella Rosario Montez."

Her cap and gown, like Sharpay's and Kelsi's, were white; the guys wore red. Gabriella's hair was long and straight; Troy never thought she looked happier and more beautiful as the moment she was accepting her diploma. She, unfortunately, was not named valedictorian or salidictorian. She was ranked third in their class and was narrowly beat out by a boy named Alex Johansson for salidictorian and her GPA was only a decimal point away from the valedictorian, a girl named Melissa Gordon. Even so, she didn't mind it much. She even told Troy that she wouldn't possibly want to put in the time and effort to make a speech anyway. Troy smiled at the memory. That was one of the reasons he loved her so much. She always looked at the bright side, even in her darkest hours.

Gabriella firmly shook Principal Matsui's hand and got her picture taken. She gracefully stepped off the stage and looked directly at Troy. She smiled and motioned with her hand to come over. Troy nodded and crawled over the row of people to get to the exit where Gabriella was. She reached for his hand and led him out of the gym and down the hallway.

They stopped in front of the trophy case and Gabriella motioned for Troy to come closer. Gabriella grabbed Troy's free hand and placed it on her stomach.

"I want you to know that even though we went through some bad stuff these past couple of months," Gabriella said as she caressed Troy's hand. "I don't regret any day I spent with you, or the fact that we made this baby. I love you Troy Bolton. I want to be with you forever."

Troy smiled and kissed her lips blissfully. "I love you too, Gabriella Montez." He smiled and bent down and patted her stomach gently and pressed a kiss to it. "I love you too, baby."

Both smiled and held each other, affirming their love forever.

A/N: I thought that was a sweet way to end it…it pretty much wraps everything up nicely doesn't it? Thanks every loyal reader who actually waited for me to finally post this. You are unbelievably great to put up with my crap, and I'm so sorry again for not posting. Thanks for reading and remember to review!


	15. Epilogue

A/N: This is the last chapter. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make a third story. I'll post the summary in this story later.

Epilogue

Two months after graduation, Troy and Gabriella became husband and wife in a romantic wedding in Gabriella's backyard. The wedding was very simple. Gabriella wore a simple, white dress that showed the slight swell of her stomach. Troy wore a navy blue suit with a white shirt and tie. Chad was Troy's best man and Sharpay was Gabriella's maid of honor. Maria and Liam (who were also newly weds) gave Gabriella away. Everyone was crying tears of happiness for the new couple. After the wedding, there was a small reception in Gabriella's house. After having a traditional dance and cake, the women turned the reception into a baby shower. All the men left then for the Boltons' house to start on a barbeque for all of the guests later. The women showered Gabriella with gifts for the baby and a few gifts for herself. The whole day turned out very beautiful and it was everything Gabriella could have hope for.

The next couple weeks were stressful, however. They were starting school in a few weeks, but the couple left early to set up their dorm room in the married dorms. They soon were settled and started school that next week. As the months went by, Gabriella's belly grew larger. Troy continued to work hard in basketball and he ended up starting in a few of the games. By January, Gabriella suddenly went into labor three weeks early. After the doctors announced that they couldn't hold off the delivery any longer, Gabriella was admitted into the maternity ward where she gave birth to their son, Connor Jonathan Bolton. Although he was three weeks premature, Connor was healthy enough to be taken home 10 days later.

The small family had a rough time with baby Connor for a few weeks, but they soon fell into a routine that worked perfectly. Troy took only morning classes so that Gabriella could have an hour more of sleeping time before the baby woke up. Gabriella would then spend the whole morning tending to baby Connor until Troy came home. While Gabriella was at her afternoon courses, Troy would play with Connor, feed him lunch, and then put him down for a nap. Around that time, Gabriella would come back to the dorm room and they would then usually take a nap together. After their nap, Troy would then go to work. Troy worked part-time at a near by diner until about 10:00 at night. By then, both Gabriella and Troy would be tired out and would then go right to sleep. Their days were stressful, but they loved every minute of it. They would always look forward to weekends because they would have almost the whole day together. They would then usually go to the park or on long breaks they would sometimes go visit Jason, Kelsi, and Zeke at the University of San Diego or they would go back to Albuquerque.

Chad was doing very well at Sacramento State. He was a strong student and he planned on majoring in law. He wanted to become a lawyer one day. He was also excelling in basketball. He worked very hard for a starting place on the team and by his sophomore year, he was starting almost every game. He frequently called Gabriella and Troy to check up on them and to talk. When Connor was born, Chad took time off from basketball to go visit them in Los Angeles. At that time, he became little Connor's godfather.

Kelsi and Jason settled into their apartment in San Diego a few weeks before classes started. Both got part-time jobs at a local music store to pay for their apartment.

Zeke also attended the University of San Diego. He lived in the dorms for a while, but ended up moving in with Kelsi and Jason. The two bedrooms and one bathroom apartment became slightly cramped, but they all enjoyed staying with each other. They felt like it was high school again. Zeke began a job working as a waiter at a restaurant.

After gradation, Kelsi, who was majoring in music, worked on many new compositions. She ended up moving to Hollywood with Jason to work on music compositions for films. Jason, who graduated majoring in American history, took a job teaching in a Los Angeles private school.

Zeke ended up graduating with a business major and took a few cooking classes on the side. He then opened up his own French restaurant where he worked as the head chef. He named the restaurant after his mother, Diana.

Sharpay, who was going to New Mexico State University, was majoring in secondary education theatre arts. She was living in Las Cruces during the school year and then she and Ryan would come back to Albuquerque to live with their parents. They really missed her and Ryan during the school year. After achieving her master's degree in education, she soon got a job at East High as Ms. Darbus' replacement due to her retirement.

Ryan was doing well in New York. He was attending Julliard and he was majoring in theatre. He wanted to become a Broadway performer. He missed Sharpay and all of his friends terribly, but he was excited for the whole gang to come to New York for the day for his graduation.

Troy and Gabriella graduated on a Saturday in June, just like they did 4 years prior. Gabriella graduated with a nursing certificate, while Troy graduated with a business degree. That summer, they moved back to Albuquerque and settled into their new lives. Gabriella started her job at the hospital as an ER nurse, and Troy started working at a company that sold gardening and farm supplies. Connor went to daycare and frequently spent time with his grandpa Jack learning to play basketball. That August, Gabriella and Troy found out some exciting news. They were expecting another baby in March. The whole family became very excited about the new baby, especially Connor who really wanted a baby sister. Their whole lives seemed so perfect at that point. Gabriella and Troy were as in love as the day they married and they were sure that they would always feel that way. Life just seems to work out the way you want it sometimes. You just have to believe in it.


End file.
